Microelectronic packages are now commonly produced to contain two or more multi-axis sensors, such as a three axis Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometer and a three axis MEMS gyroscope. The transducer structures for the MEMS accelerometer and the MEMS gyroscope may be formed on a single die in, for example, a side-by-side relationship. Performance of the microelectronic package can be enhanced by enclosing the MEMS transducer structures in fluidly-isolated cavities, each containing a different pressure tailored to the particular type of transducer structure enclosed thereby. One or more thin film layers can be utilized to produce fluidly-isolated cavities enclosing the MEMS transducer structures; however, the usage of thin film layers is associated with certain limitations, such as relatively poor mechanical strength and seal integrity. A more structurally robust package can be produced by bonding a solid cap piece lacking active circuitry (a “dummy cap”) over the MEMS transducer structures to create a single, hermetically-sealed cavity. However, such an approach generally requires that the accelerometer and gyroscope transducer structures are exposed to a common pressure, which can negatively impact the performance of the microelectronic package. Additionally, the inclusion of a dummy cap can add undesired bulk and cost to the microelectronic package.
It is thus desirable to embodiments of a microelectronic package including two or more MEMS transducer structures, which are enclosed within separate, fluidly-isolated cavities in a structurally robust manner. Ideally, embodiments of such a microelectronic package would have a reduced size and manufacturing cost as compared conventional microelectronic packages. It would also be desirable to provide embodiments of a microelectronic package, which contains at least one MEMS transducer structure enclosed within a hermetic cavity in addition to another microelectronic device (e.g., a magnetometer die) and which has a reduced height or thickness. Finally, it would be desirable to provide methods for producing microelectronic packages having one or more of the foregoing characteristics. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and the appended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings and the foregoing Background.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of the invention described in the subsequent Detailed Description. It should further be understood that features or elements appearing in the accompanying figures are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise stated. For example, the dimensions of certain elements or regions in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements or regions to improve understanding of embodiments of the invention.